This invention relates to miter gauges to which a workpiece is to be engaged for cutting upon it of either a right-hand or a left-hand miter and, more particularly, to such a gauge which can be slidably mounted in the work surface of a table saw.
In the past, the conventional table saw method of cutting 45.degree. miters, both left and right-hand, so as to make a perfect 90.degree. joint, has been a tedious process for most home craftsman. The conventional adjustable "stops" for the the 45.degree. positions are usually not set correctly at the factory, and it is up to the home craftsman to perform that task. Many persons can not do that adequately. Furthermore, continued use of the conventional miter gauge usually results in that setting changing from time to time, such that it is not always dependable.
Several prior-art forms of gauges and methods have been employed in the past.
U.S. Pat. No. 154,234 shows a form of an old miter box that has a base frame, an adjustable square block on the frame that cooperates with a pair of fixed triangular corner blocks for clamping the workpiece therebetween. The top of the square block has a pair of spaced guide blocks for guiding the travel of the hand saw therebetween. This old miter box may also serve as a corner clamp during gluing and nailing of the miter joint.
U.S. Pat. No. 778,642 describes a complicated, adjustable miter box device that is used for cutting a mitered joint by clamping together two work pieces in a crossed, over and under, arrangement such that they may both be cut with a circular saw at the same time. This old device is adjustable both angularly and vertically for altering the distance between the two crisscrossed workpieces. Its base has two parallel ribs which fit into parallel grooves in the bench of the saw so the apparatus may be moved toward or away from the saw in an accurate manner.
With the old device described in U.S. Pat. No. 790,182, it is intended that small sections of a ring of a given diameter are to be accurately cut at their ends such that those cut sections may be butted and glued together to form a complete ring. A triangular frame serves as an adjustable miter gauge, and the arcuate segment is clamped across the top of the frame. That frame includes a guide rail which is mountable in guide grooves formed in the table of the bench saw.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,452,233 describes a table saw bearing a longitudinal sliding section that supports an L-shaped frame, that includes two faces at right angles to each other which are provided with screw-mounted bars for forming a miter joint. The workpiece is adapted to be placed against either bar. With this old device, the cuts are made from the same side of the circular saw.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,010,882 illustrates a table saw with a self-indexing miter gauge that has a guide rail which travels in a guide slot in the table surface. The gauge has a vertical face which is adapted to form a rest for the workpiece. The gauge is angularly adjustable such that the angular relation of the vertical face may be varied. This gauge also has an adjustable extension which functions as an end gauge.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,752,960 describes an adjustable miter gauge that includes a screw-operated clamping member which is adjustable relative to the gauge. However, its clamping member has no vertically-adjustable means for preventing the workpiece from rotating during clamping. This old gauge also has a guide rail which travels in the guide slot of the table.
The present invention is directed toward providing a novel and improved miter gauge for making right-angular mitered joints on table saws for picture frames, door and window frames, mouldings and the like.